Some of you will remember Gab Macintosh and her school, Blacktown Youth College who were part of our group from the beginning. We lost touch with Gab for a number of years but this year we have been in touch again and I learnt that she had set up another school called Eagle Arts and Vocational College with three campuses in Broken Hill, Western Sydney and the Central Coast. Gab has been keen for the school to become part of ADEC. As with BYC, the students at these schools have often had troubled histories within their families, their education and some with the justice system. Gab has always been one to champion them and try to find ways to enable them to change their lives and create some educational paths ways which work for them. The school recently has had the disturbing news that the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has decided to close them down. Like all these situation the story is long and complicated but is very upsetting and perplexing for the school community especially as they have had 5 inspections in the last 18 months and just two weeks prior to the final negative inspection they had passed an inspection. Gab told me that she had written an article for the local paper and this was apparently reported to the board and they came for another inspection virtually the next day. It was this inspection that prompted the judgement that they were not a proper school. Gab has not really been able to establish why one group of inspectors’ decision was completely overturned. The school worked with a compliance expert and even this process did not result in a change of decision. In fact any attempt to allow time to work on issues or work on appeals has resulted in the decision being brought forward.

Gab is aware that other small alternative schools have also been having more difficult processes of inspection and wonders if some change of culture has occurred within the Authority which is now making it much harder to comply?

Gab has sent a request of support from ADEC. She mentioned three possible ways we might be able to do this.

In the past Gab has been successful in getting the media to respond to issues about the schools but at the moment no one is responding to the story at all. She asked if anyone has any contacts in the media who might be prepared to listen to the story and give it some attention to please let her know.

Letters of support to the politicians and bureaucrats would also be appreciated. We agreed that the people to focus on are the Premier, The Minister for Education and the Shadow Minister for Education, the Treasurer as he is the local member for plus the local members of Broken Hill and Central Coast.

The school is considering a protest gathering outside Parliament House on 21st Nov and they would appreciate if others felt able to join them in support. This is not definite yet but I will keep you up to date if it is going ahead.

Cec will draft letters from ADEC but I am sure that Gab and the school communities would also appreciate it is any other individuals and other schools wrote as well.

I am very pleased to tell you that Fiona McKenzie, the Co-ordinator, and the community of Koonwarra Village School in Victoria are happy to host the ADEC Conference in 2016. I would like to thank them very much for agreeing to host. They hope to hold the conference during the week of 26th – 30th September 2016 which is the week most common to most of the States and NZ.

As soon as they have the definite dates I will let you know.

Those of us who were at the 2014 conference at Peregrine School in Tasmania will remember Fiona and Hadassah and I look forward to being able to spend time together with them and their community. Koonwarra Village School began in 2011/12.

I hope that many of you and members of your school communities will be able to join us for this gathering and we can continue to renew the connections we have made over the years and build new paths for ADEC.

Early Bird registration is still open till the end of April for the first APDEC conference being hosted by Miao-Li County Holistic Education school in Taiwan from 18th – 24th July 2016. We hope that many of our friends in ADEC will be able to participate and continue the work to develop the Asia/Pacific Democratic Education Community.

Faye Berryman and Philip O’Caroll, have published the story of their founding of the Fitzroy Community School in 1976 and their discoveries over the years since then about children, parents, education, schooling and life.

Faye and Philip have each written their story and though it is about FCS as Philip wrote, ” the book is mostly about the state of education in Australia today and what it could be in the future.”

Philip is keen to spread the word about the book and hopes that as well as the fascinating story of this specific school, the broader premise of the book will be of interest to many of us involved in the lives of children and working to create education which enables their lives to be rich and fulfilling.

The registration page for the ADEC 2014 Conference is now available on the website of the host, Peregrine School Tasmania. I hope that many of you will register soon and join us for the conference from Sunday 28th – Tuesday 30th September 2014.http://www.peregrine.tas.edu.au/adec-conference-2014